Munster is brimming with exceptional talent, and its residents continue to make waves far beyond the borders of their hometown. Case in point: journalist and author Mark Taylor, whose latest work has garnered attention around Chicagoland.
Taylor was recently awarded non-fiction Book of the Year from the Chicago Writers Association. His book, Hospital Heal Thyself, One Brilliant Mathematician’s Plan for Saving Hospitals, Many Lives and Billions of Dollars, published by John Wiley & Sons in November 2024, represents seven years of work for Taylor.
The book chronicles not only its fascinating subject – Eugene Litvak, Ph.D., – from the ashes of Kiev after World War II on his journey as an internationally renowned applied mathematician in the Cold War USSR to Soviet “refusenik” and Harvard professor. More importantly, Hospital, Heal Thyself explores how Litvak employed his secret power—math— to analyze and create workable programs for hospitals to improve patient flow and quality of care.
While that may sound dry, the results are impressive. Hospitals that adopt Litvak’s methods see reduced delays in the ER and less overcrowding; fewer postponed or canceled surgeries; decreased rates of hospital readmissions and improvements in care and patient satisfaction. Hospitals that have adopted his methods have seen higher rates of nurse retention, reduced nurse and physician burnout and stress and
achieved millions of dollars in savings. His proven methods, documented in the best medical journals and demonstrated to work at the best hospitals in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, have saved many lives as well.
So why don’t all U.S. hospitals adopt these practices? Hospital Heal Thyself illustrates the problems of our dysfunctional healthcare system with real life examples and also offers a roadmap for improvement in a highly readable book aimed not only at healthcare professionals and policymakers, but a general audience as well.
Mark Taylor will be signing books from 3 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, January 11 at the new Barnes and Noble in Schererville on U.S. 41. He will be reading an excerpt from his book at 4 p.m.
